Historica relatione del Regno di Cile, e delle Missioni e ministerio che esecita in quelle la Compagnia di Giesu

Ovalle, Alonso de

1646. Rome. Francesco Cavalli. Folio, (253 mm x 182 mm). 4 ff., 378 pp., 1 ff., 18 woodcuts in text on 9 leaves, 12 full-page plates, 6 [maps], folding map. Elegant 19th century burgundy morocco by Petit, two triple gilt fillets to boards forming compartments with corner pieces, raised bands to spine, compartments heavily gilt, lettered, foot of spine starting, but overall fine. Fine copy in 19th century condition, washed and pressed.

First Italian edition printed the same year as the first in Spanish; the simultaneity of both relations makes it impossible to assess to their priority in time. 

 

Ovalle provides a description of the geography and natural history of the province of Chile, including Tierra del Fuego, and describes the native populations who inhabited the region. In particular, this work is a highly important source for the study of the Araucanian Indians, as it deals at length with their social structure, political organization, diet, and domestic life. Ovalle also discusses the early contact period between the Spanish and Indians, the ensuing conflicts, the Spanish settlement, the advent of Catholic missionaries, proselytization and conversion, the role of the Society of Jesus, miracles and apparitions of the Virgin, and numerous other topics. Overall, it is one of the most primary and richest sources of information on the physical and cultural reality of the country, and provides a remarkable amount of information of the Indian ethnology. Ovalle (1601 – 1651) was a Chilean born historian, educator and Jesuit; he lived in Rome from 1642 to 1650 where he had his work published.

 

Complementing Ovalle's history is a wealth of visual images, with renderings of natives, architecture and city life. In the text are fourteen engravings showing Indian customs, Catholic religious imagery, and a map of the city of Santiago. The woodcuts illustrate Jesuit establishments throughout Chile, a map of the Chiloe archipelago, and unusual bird's-eye woodcut views of harbours along the coast. The engraved map, "Tabula Geographica Regni Chile," shows the entire region discussed in the book and is considered one of the most relevant cartographic productions on Chile of the 17^th century; it is, additionally, quite a beautiful map. The importance of the text, combined with the illustrations, make this volume one of great appeal and historical interest.

 

European Americana, 646/113. JCB (3), II, 346. Sabin, 57971. De Backer –Sommervogel, VI:60. Palau, 207399.

1646

$22,000.00